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Aussie sounds protected forever

AM - Thursday, 19 June , 2008 08:16:00

Reporter: Michael Edwards

TONY EASTLEY: The Aeroplane Jelly advertising jingle is a tune instantly familiar to generations of Australians, as is the Billy Thorpe hit 'Most People I Know'.

The recordings are among 10 that have been added to the National Registry of Recorded Sound for their impact on Australia's cultural heritage.

Other recordings added to the registry include a pub song and recordings of Australian cricketers.

Michael Edwards has this report.

(Excerpt from Aeroplane Jelly song.)

MICHAEL EDWARDS: It's the type of song that stays with you whether you like it or not. The tune was initially written to arouse patriotism during World War One. It didn't work for this purpose, but a rejigging of the lyrics added with the voice of Joy Wigglesworth, and it became the song which sold jelly crystals to millions of Australians.

(Excerpt continued.)

Its cultural importance has now been recognised with its inclusion into the Sounds of Australia National Registry of Recorded Sound. The Aeroplane Jelly tune is one of 10 recordings inducted into the registry last night.

Launched last year by the National Sound and Film Archive, Sounds of Australia is a collection of recordings to mark Australian history and culture.

The oldest of the recent entries is a 1919 recording of Country Gardens performed by Percy Grainger.

(Excerpt from Percy Grainger playing Country Gardens.)

And it's not just musical pieces. Recordings of members of the Australian Cricket Team which had just won the 1930s Ashes have also made the collection.

This is the voice Bill Woodfull, it was the first time an Australian cricketer had ever been recorded.

BILL WOODFULL (excerpt from recording): Our thoughts are pleasant ones for we shall be taking back precious cargo, the Ashes…

MICHAEL EDWARDS: The recordings are nominated by the public but the final selections are made by a panel of judges which includes musicians, curators and archivists.

One of the judges is Paolo Cherchi Usai, the curator of the National Sound and Film Archive which runs the registry.

PAOLO CHERCHI USAI: Recorded sound is a document of history and especially recorded sound, a recorded sound permeates our everyday life. We are completely surrounded by recorded sounds and certain recorded sounds really become part of the fabric of our life.

(Excerpt from Slim Dusty's, 'A Pub With No Beer'.)

MICHAEL EDWARDS: Slim Dusty's classic, A Pub With No Beer, also made the list, as did a more contemporary song by Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs.

(Excerpt from Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs', 'Most People I Know'.)

TONY EASTLEY: The late Billy Thorpe along with the Aztecs ending Michael Edwards' report.